I work in fundraising for after the standard Im out until X, contact Y in the meantime, I also list ways people can give, since thats my job.
Start by recognizing your backup contacts for the time when you are out of the office. Make sure that, when needed, they can be available to help customers instead of you. Meeting with your co-workers and making everything clear should be one of your top priorities. The person who covers you while you are gone should not find that out by receiving an email out of nowhere. Be professional and plan everything properly — you are about to take a break, after all.
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I’ve had people inform me that my OOO is up during a period that I was still away. Yea I’m aware my systems are set to send an OOO message, it’s doing its job if you got it.
Yeah, I do think some are pretty funny (eg tan lines) and some are not so terrible, but I honestly think she took them incredibly seriously and wasn’t trying to make her colleagues laugh as much as just ….. put out an air of “look how personable and authentic I am”. She also lamented that other people’s OOOs were “rigid” and why couldn’t people have fun?! Which again, sounds not so bad but was someone who would regularly ask prying inappropriate personal questions, so it came across less like “let’s loosen up” and more like “why won’t people tell me the specifics of why they’re off today, because I deserve to know”.
By bringing some automation into the process, you not only ensure that your staff is leaving vacation email messages that cover what’s needed, but you’re also eliminating the possibility that team members will forget to turn them on.
Co-sign. HATE THAT. We use Outlook and there’s a banner across the top that says AUTOMATIC REPLIES ARE BEING SENT. Just click the button to stop them!
If you are going out of office but still leave something interesting for your contacts like poetry, that’s something really out of the box. This is a truly amazing OOO message, and reverting with poetry will surely make the receiver read it twice as emails are the last place one imagines reading poetries. Especially closing with “If all else fails, clear your cache…” is one good way of telling people that they will need proper help and it will anyway take time before they’re all set. Have a look at it here:
1. Out of Office Template #1 For the Person Who Works at a Traditional Company. Hello, Thank you for your email, I’m currently offline until [date]. I’ll reply to your message promptly when I return.
One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year. Wishing you the gifts of the season — Peace, Joy, Hope. Merry Christmas.
An easy win here is to be specific about your out-of-office dates, or to be upbeat about why you are out of office.
Please note that you have already sent me one email. I’ll be 1 percent connected while on vacation so I’m not 100 percent panicked on return.
At my current workplace, I got an OOO about someone being on sabbatical and off driving a vintage VW bus. Loved that one. But also got one about someone bringing a tiny human into the world – that was a weird overshare.
Due to a bank holiday, I am out of the office on 18th November. Emails won’t be forwarded and will be answered after my return on 19th November.
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